Malaysia, Indonesia-Based Hacker Groups Call For Cyber War Against India Following Nupur Sharma Incident

Two hacker groups from Malaysia and Indonesia have initiated a cyber war against India following former BJP leader Nupur Sharma’s comments on Prophet Muhammad during a television debate, Ahmedabad’s Deputy Commissioner of Police for the cybercrime wing Amit Vasava said.

The groups have reportedly been identified as ‘Dragon force Malaysia’ and ‘Hacktivist Indonesia’. 

Vasava further added that the groups have also urged Muslim hackers from across the world to launch cyberattacks against India.

“Hacker groups Dragonforce Malaysia & Hacktivist Indonesia belonging to Malaysia & Indonesia declared cyber war against India. We have done technical analysis & found out the IP (internet protocol) addresses and reported them to Interpol,” Vasava told ANI.

He also said that websites of various government agencies and industries were hacked by the hackers. He further added that the groups are also involved in leaking the database of Andhra Pradesh police as well as defacing the website of Thane (Maharashtra) Police. The groups also leaked PAN card and Aadhaar details, according to the Ahmedabad DCP. 

“Over two thousand websites were hacked by hacker groups. Ahmedabad cyber crime has written to Malaysian and Indonesian governments along with writing to Interpol for a lookout notice for both groups,” Vasava said.

The threat comes amidst a renewed focus on ramping up the country’s cyber defences. Last week, it was reported that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was reviewing the country’s national cybersecurity strategy. 

In March this year, the government informed the Parliament that more than 2.12 Lakh cybersecurity incidents were reported by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) in the first two months of 2022. It also added that more than 14.02 Lakh such incidents were reported in total last year. 

Last month, a security researcher claimed that the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) website was exposing the personal details, including Aadhaar card numbers, of more than 110 Mn farmers registered on the portal.